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Bad Credit?

I am trying to figure out if there is a way I can bump my credit score higher. It is currently at around 530-540, due to unpaid credit cards. How can I repair my credit?

Public Comments

  1. Pay all bills from here on out on time... and if possible, open a new account of some kind and develop a good credit history with that lender. Thats the only way to a fix a problem like that. Anyone who tells you otherwise is trying you scam you.
  2. I hired a law office to continously file disputes with experian, trains union and equifax. I send them the reports and they clean them up. Has worked great for me and I get a lower apr on cc now. My law office is bradley ross law/
  3. Now, while I agree with iceman that paying your bills is very important. The next 24 months are the most crucial, you must take control over your finances and pay on time. IN the meanwhile, Equifax is your most important so we will start there. Go to Equifax.com and subscribe to their monthly credit monitoring (should be like $9.99 a month), they will give you unlimited credit reports (and disputes). Get your first report and print it. Go to the dispute section and dispute everything negative immediately (it will take 30 days to get a response). your first time around you will have about 20% of this come off which will raise your score by anywhere from 30-75 points. It is the creditors responsibility to prove that the information is legitimate, so there is nothing unethical about doing this. yOU CAN DO IT AS MANY TIMES AS YOU WISH, normally some of them take up to 3-4 times to come off. It will work with late pays, chargeoffs, medical. While selling equipment I had to help alot of clients raise their scores to be able to buy.......so it does work.
  4. Here are some steps to help you get started on repairing your credit. First, make sure all the information on your credit report is accurate. Second, try to pay off all or any accounts that are currently in collections or make payment arrangements with the creditor to pay off the balance monthly. Third, any credit card that is over 50% of the available credit line should be paid down to under half of your total credit line. Your credit score is lowered when your available balance is over 50% of your total credit line. Finally, if you have bad or no credit and have no credit cards try to obtain two credit cards and make sure all of your monthly payments are made on time. This will help increase your credit score. If you cannot be approved for a unsecured credit card, obtain a secured credit card.
  5. I agree more with Ice, although you can do what ATLgirl said and hire a company to do what's called debt validation. I've tried it, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. But in all actuality, the best way to repair your credit is to make arrangements to pay those collection accounts. Try to negotiate paying to have them removed from your report. Chances are they may not do this, but if you're able to get them to agree, get something in writing before you send them anything. I posted a link on how to negotiate. After you've paid the collection debts off, then you have to establish good credit for yourself. The easiest way to do that is by opening up a secured credit card or two. You do have to put a deposit as collateral uprfront usually tied to a savings account or CD to get the same amount for the credit limit, but you can think of this as building credit with a savings account. As long as you pay on time and keep the balance you've spent lower than 30% of your available credit, usually after a year you not only get the deposit back, but you're offered a better card. I've also posted several links to some secured cards. After you've established those cards for about a year, then try for a department store card.
  6. Filing disputes, like ATLgirl mentions, works but is only temporary. The credit agency removes the disputed item, but it re-appears after the next reporting cycle. Filing continuous disputes can get expensive and is often considered unethical. Making payments, on time, month after month is the best way to build up your score. If you have three or more credit cards, don't open any more or your score will go down further. Take care of past due issues first. Work out re-payment plans with the credit card companies if you have to. Next, if any of your cards are over their limit, pay these down so they are at or below your limit. Then pay down your cards based on the the percentage owed. For example, if one card has a $1000 limit and you owe $900, you owe 90% of the limit. If another card has a $5000 limit and you owe $2500, you only owe 50% of the limit. Pay down the cards with the highest percentage owed, so in this case, pay down the one you owe $900. Try to get all of your cards below 70% of their credit limits, then try to get them all below 50%. This will take some time & effort, but you'll develop good habits that will serve you for the rest of your life.
  7. Pay bills on time and u should be fine..
  8. Everyone always asks the same question haha.. I raised mine to well over 700 points fro 500 using these steps in less than a year -- : # Know and Track Your Credit Score (be sure to sign up for the free trial of your credit score tracking listed below. It really helped my get my score up.) # Never Miss a Payment, Starting Today # Never use more than 20% of your Available Credit # Keep Credit Cards that Have No Annual Fees Open For as Long as Possible # Extend Your Credit Limit on Cards You Already Have before You Get New Ones # Get Credit Cards that Have CashBack Rewards to Contribute to your Balance # Transfer Your Balance to a Credit Card with a Lower Interest Rate and a Higher Available Credit- # If You Think You Are Going to be FORCED to Pay a Bill Late Ask for an Extension or Payment Plan # Take out a Small Personal Loan and Repay it Over a Year # Ask Someone With Good Credit if They will Account Shadow you --which you can read more about on my blog: 10-Ways to Boost Your MyFico Score http://millionster.com/articles/debt/increase-fico-credit-score/
  9. Hi there! Unfortunately, there's no quick fix for repairing your credit. The only way to strengthen your credit is to manage your credit responsibly over time: Make timely payments on your credit accounts and outstanding debts to establish a positive new track record with handling credit. Pay all bills on time; get current on any payments you may have missed; keep balances low on credit cards, etc. Like losing weight, strengthening your credit can only happen with time and effort. For helpful information on credit, you might want to check out this website: http://learn.equifax.com/. It’s provided by Equifax. I actually worked with Equifax in the past, so I’m familiar with some of the information and services they provide. And I think this website is really helpful. It’s created for the general public so it’s pretty easy to read. I would definitely recommend it. All the best,
  10. First pay off your unpaid debt. Try not to close any of these cards after they have been paid, just don't use them. Talk to a bank officer about getting a secured loan(loan using your own money). Obtain copies of all three credit reports, verify information is accurate, if there are items paid off, that still show a balance owed, dispute those with the credit bureau, they will get those updated. Good luck
  11. One of the fastest ways to get cash with bad credit, and little hassle, would be with a payday loan. Yes they have terrible interest rates but they are taking a risk. This site offers more details about the payday loans as well as various sites offering the loans, many without even a credit check. Do your homework. Best starting point is here: http://loan.deal4-you.com Good luck.
  12. . Usually companies charge hundreds of dollars to simply pull your credit and send correctly worded dispute letters—this is the key…..people will tell you that you can do this yourself for free but the truth of the matter is that the credit bureaus will throw your letters away or simply reject them. There is an easy to use online kit that will deliver the results you want available for just $19.95 at the source website. A similar kit is being sold via infomercials and radio talk shows for seventy dollars more but they try to solicit you repeatedly for other services after the fact.
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